GRAND BLANC,
MI – Voters within the Grand Blanc School district will have the final decision
on a $36-million bond proposal for technology upgrades in the
district.

If approved,
the bond proposal will fund technology upgrades, remodel and furnish school
buildings, for security improvements and to purchase school buses.

Some of the
upgrades planned in the first two years of the bond include security cameras,
improved wireless access in all classrooms, renovating media centers throughout
the district and purchasing student and staff devices. And in the five to 12
years out, more devices and security cameras would be purchased.

Grand Blanc
School's Technology Architect Herb Wansitler said utilizing technology in the
classroom allows for creativity and keeps students interested and engaged.

"This is
basically their pencil and paper. This is what they use and this is how they
think," Wansitler said.

Changes to
the media centers/flexible learning labs would include large tables and chairs
where students could sit in groups and work from the devices they bring from
home, as opposed to rows of desktop computers.

Wansitler
said the district has about 4,000 computers and more than half of them are six
or eight years old. The average life of a computer, he said is five years and
the district is currently on a 15-year replacement cycle.

Infrastructure
throughout the district also would see an upgrade, replacing servers and
upgrading wiring and fiber and wireless capabilities. Everyone with a device,
Wansitler said, would be able to connect wirelessly in the classroom.

"Right now
we just don't have wireless that will handle a significant amount of mobile
devices," he said.

The bond
also would pay for the costs of replacing seven buses per year for 12 years,
which would replace all buses in the district's fleet.

If approved
the bond would span a 12-year period starting in 2014.

A $200,000
home with a $100,000 taxable value would see an increase of an average of $123
in taxes per year.

Craig
Banasiak, of Grand Blanc Township, said he will not vote for the bond because
he wants to see cuts in the administrative health care, pension and retirement
funds first to offset the district's budget.

"I'm against
it because I think there's lot of areas they could and should be trying to save
before they come to the public to relieve the general fund," Banasiak said.

Doug Gardner of Grand Blanc has grandchildren in the district and said
he will probably vote in favor of the bond proposal.

"I'm in favor of supporting the schools as long as it's not extravagant,"
Gardner said.

Dana
DeFever can be reached at 810-429-3919 or ddefever@mlive.com. You can also
follow her on Twitter @DanaDeFever or subscribe to her on Facebook.